Trixie observed the scenery as she thought about what she'd just gotten herself into. She was so going to get Discord back for this.
Hm, that was a thought. Why would Discord send her here in the first place? All she'd done was comment on his stupid dependence on Fluttershy....a bit hypocritical in retrospect, but not something she could take back. Maybe she went a bit too far? Would Discord come and get her? Oh Celestia, would she be stuck here for the rest of her life!? Discord wouldn't-oh no he totally would!
She glared at the window and crossed her arms, if he wasn't going to come and get her, she'd find a way back herself! If she actually knew the first thing about what he'd done... She was doomed... No! She was the Great and Powerful Trixie! No task was too large! Maybe she wouldn't be able to do it alone, but she'd find a way! If it took bribing a hundred scientists, she'd find a way back!
Resolute, she turned her thoughts to what was about to transpire. All she knew was that she was going to a place called Viridian City, and she was then supposed to walk to Pallet Town from there. Since she had nothing better to do, she should map out a path on the map her father said she had.
She swung her bag onto her lap and struggled a bit with the zipper, if only her magic hadn't regressed, then she wouldn't have to use these stupid new appendages! She huffed in frustration, and a few moments later she finally managed to open up the bag, hooves were so much easier than these stupid things.
Digging around, she decided to see what other items had been prepared for her. She spotted a few changes of clothing, food, and what she assumed was pokémon food. Now that she thought about it, what even were pokémon? Were they like the animals of her world? Or were they higher beings? Was she a pokémon? Hopefully she'd get some answers when she reached Pallet Town. Her father mentioned something about a professor's lab when he woke her up, was that where she was supposed to go? Grrr, why was being transported to a new dimension so confusing!? Why couldn't she just know everything she needed to know!?
She angrily rifled through her bag, searching for the stupid map and disregarding all the other items. Upon finally finding the stupid thing, she opened it and saw that it was apparently a world map. Screaming had never been so tempting in her life; she had to search for wherever stupid Viridian City was, and then map out a route to Pallet Town, on a stupid world map! She just wanted to scream and cry and wreck something, but she was on a train and would probably be reprimanded like a stupid child. If her height compared to everyp-everyone else was indicative, then she probably was a stupid child! Could things get any worse? She grumbled to herself and set to looking for Viridian City.
It took several minutes of scanning, but she found it in the country of Kanto. Pallet Town was literally right next to it, she just had to go through a forest of questionable length, since it was a world map she couldn't really trust the proportions, after all, even Equestrian Maps were proportionally off, and those were maps of a single kingdom!
Speaking of, was Kanto a kingdom of some kind? Or was it a state and the map wasn't a world map at all? And what even was a pokémon journey!? She didn't know anything and it was grating on her nerves. She wished that Starlight were here, then she'd probably be in much better shape. Why did she have to insult Discord? That was quite possibly the stupidest thing she could've done! If only she hadn't been so lenient with how she'd treated the LORD OF CHAOS!
"Hey girl, you seem a bit nervous, what'cha all alone here for?" Trixie turned to see a boy with blue hair standing over her. An obvious display of power. What a creep. She rolled her eyes, "Like I have to tell you anything," and went to put her map back in her bag, not wanting to take the risk that this creep would try and steal it. The boy scowled when he saw that she wasn't giving him attention and shoved her into the window seat so he could take the aisle seat beside her. She growled, indignant and righteously angry, how dare this pipsqueak touch her! He smirked, obviously thinking he'd gotten the upper hand, "What'cha gonna do now hot shot? I was trying to be polite." Trixie wanted to punch this creep so hard, but she settled for a harsh smack instead. Flat out punching him would probably get her in trouble if anyone was paying attention.
The boy's eyes widened, his hand going up to his cheek as if he'd never been hit before. Time seemed to freeze as his face contorted from shock into rage. He lunged at her, holding her arms down with one hand as he readied to punch her. She tried to kick him off and squirm out of his grip, but she was too weak compared to him. He let loose a volley of punches that honestly hurt more than she expected. She squirmed, trying to make sure he didn't break any bones or get her eyes. He wasn't hitting her hard enough to break anything, but each hit felt like a brick to the face. She could feel the bruises starting to form as she desperately flailed her legs to get him off.
"Young man! Off of her!" A middle aged man grabbed him by the midsection and dragged him off of her. Trixie quickly scrambled into the corner and made herself as small as possible, shocked by how quickly things had escalated. Just because she had to smack him. Why didn't she just ignore him? He probably would've left of his own volition then. She was so stupid.
Eventually, the boy's screaming penetrated her dazed mind,
"GET OFF ME! SHE DESERVED IT! GET OFF!" The boy was practically hysterical as he was dragged to a different cart, flailing about like a fish out of water. If that man hadn't been there, Celestia knows what would've happened to her. She wasn't strong enough to be on her own. She wasn't prepared. There was no way she'd be able to get away if that happened and she was alone in the middle of the woods somewhere. It wasn't too late to go back to her father and become a doctor or something. She should've just slept in. She should've taken whatever punishment her father had lined up and just stayed home.
"Dear, are you alright?" Trixie's eyes shot to an old woman who was hobbling over to her. Thinking about how weak she must look, trembling and curled up in a ball, she sat up and got back into a proper position. She sighed as the old woman took the aisle seat next to her,
"I'm fine ma'am." The old woman simply gave her a kind smile and got out some yarn and knitting needles; she got out an extra pair and handed them to Trixie, "Let me teach you, it always calms me down." Trixie wasn't about to object, anything to get her mind off of what just happened and her unknown future would work, even if it was just knitting. Perhaps she'd get a head start for when she was old and creaky.
She silently grabbed the needles, her hands still trembling no matter how much she tried to force them to stop, and paid close attention as she was taught how to create a small length of cloth. She smiled slightly as the woman praised her, admittedly pretty shoddy, first attempt,
"You're doing very well dear, here, hold them like this, your hand won't cramp as quickly." The next hour was spent with the old woman, and she had a new scarf by the end of it! It was a bit bulky and short, but still, she had made it! The woman smiled and patted her on the back, getting up from her seat as the train stopped,
"Here dear, I have plenty at home." Trixie was handed four spools of yarn, of varying thicknesses, and another set of knitting needles, thinner ones, "Good luck dearie." And she was gone. Trixie put the items in her bag and smiled softly, what a nice old lady. She still had about two hours until her stop, at least that was according to the schedule on the wall. She should arrive in Viridian at about ten o'clock. The woman had gotten off at Pewter City, the only stop before Viridian.
Sighing, she squeezed her bag to her chest, suddenly feeling very alone, and very exposed. As the train filled up around her, she hoped that the old lady would come back, laughing and saying that she'd gotten off at the wrong stop, and they'd start knitting together again. Instead, the train started pulling out of the station. She held back the inexplicable tears and simply squeezed her bag tighter.
She stared at the scenery as it passed by. An hour of simply staring out the window, since she couldn't even relax enough to get the much needed sleep that she'd missed out on. She hoped that she wasn't making the wrong decision by staying on the train. Eventually, she got bored enough to realize that she had time to try and practice her magic. Perhaps she'd get better at it, and maybe even get back to her actual skill level with it.
Magic Kindergarten taught several techniques to connect with your magic; she almost never used them, since after a certain point it just became instinct as the unicorn in question had become familiar enough with the feel of their magic to reliably pull it out of whatever reservoir it was stored in. As she closed her eyes and felt around for her magic she found that it was centered near her hands. In unicorns the reservoir was almost always near the horn, so the location was new. That wasn't odd though, some unicorns had their reservoirs closer to their hooves, what was odd was that it didn't feel right.
Her magic always felt light and mischievous, as if it were ready to be used to prank somepony at any moment. This magic felt calmer, more adventurous and protective, as if it were a guardian that yearned to explore. That might've been why it didn't react to her as easily, unless she was sleep deprived or frustrated, at which point almost all types of magic were easier to use. She'd have to reconnect with her magic and then start basic exercises to get it up to par again.
What a nuisance.
That next hour was spent trying to get a feel for her magic's new personality. Find out what it liked, how it liked being called on, etcetera. It was like making a new friend with somep-someone that didn't want to talk to you: annoying, hard, and really dependent on whether or not you said the right thing.
Unfortunately, before she could get a good enough grasp on it, the train stopped. She grumbled and grabbed her bag, ready for what could either be an annoyingly long hike, or a short walk. She was prepared for both, but honestly couldn't say that she didn't have a preference.
She spotted the blue haired boy stomping off the platform. Conveniently in the same direction that she was going. If he had the same destination as her, she was going to hope there was cannon fodder near by or one of them was going to kill the other.
She attempted to follow the path that she'd marked out, but while staying hidden in the trees, so that jerk wouldn't see her. She could only imagine what he'd do when he realized that they were alone in the forest together. She shivered, think happy thoughts Trixie, like how you'll totally be able to tear him to shreds in a second, eventually...
It was a walk of maybe half an hour, which was pretty good time if she was being asked. The hard part was getting into town without him noticing her. Well, they'd be around the general populace right? So if he saw her then she should have nothing to worry about. Yeah right, as if she was taking that risk. She'd hold back for a bit before going into town and asking for directions to the professor's lab.
Her mind made up, she hid behind a tree as the boy kept walking. After what she hoped was five minutes had passed, she went back on the path. Immediately upon entering the town, she saw a nice woman watering flowers. Walking up, the woman greeted her, Trixie gave a small smile, "Um, could you point me in the direction of the professor's lab?" The woman nodded,
"Ah, getting your starter then, it's up that hill, you'll know it when you see it. Actually, I should probably wake up my son, I told him staying up late was a bad idea." Trixie gave a small laugh as the woman set down her watering can and went inside. She wished the woman luck as she started walking in the direction of the professor's lab. Hopefully her son wasn't as stubborn as Trixie knew most foals were when being woken up.
She was so not in the mood for walking, but she'd hauled around her trailer for years, this was nothing. Even if it was annoying. Grumbling to herself, she finally reached the top of the hill, and yeah, the woman was not lying when she said that she'd know the lab on sight. It was probably the only modern building in this place. And lucky her, there was the stupid blue haired boy. Luckily there was another boy there too, so hopefully that was enough incentive for Blue Hair to leave her alone.
Climbing the stairs, she was immediately greeted by an offered handshake from the stranger,
"The name's Gary Oak, grandson of the great Professor Oak, and future Pokémon Master!" Trixie figured that this was one of the people who hated being shown up, so, in the interest of not having another boy wanting to fight her, she kept it simple, "Trixie Lulamoon, daughter of the best Magician in Kanto, Jackpot." Gary raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you're related to Jackpot, his shows are pretty cool. So, you know what starter you're getting?" Trixie shook her head, hoping that she didn't just blow any chance of an amicable acquaintance with this kid. Gary snorted,
"Well I'm getting Squirtle, he's the best of the three! And Damien here said he was getting Charmander, that leaves you with Bulbasaur and Ash with nothing!" So Damien was Blue Hair's name, good to know. Trixie cocked her head, "Is Ash the kid whose mother was watering flowers this morning?" Gary nodded,
"Yeah, that was Delia, she's nice enough, you know when he'll get here by any chance?" Before she could reply, she heard footsteps and saw a boy running towards the lab. Gary gave an obnoxious laugh, sweet Celestia that was annoying. "Hey Ash, you snooze you lose am I right?" Trixie was amazed at how someone's personality could flip on a dime so quickly. It was as if Gary's ego had been dialled up to eleven, and she'd only seen that kind of reaction in two, or maybe three situations. The latter two were more favorable than the thought that these two wanted to literally murder eachother.
Ash stopped running and took a second to catch his breath before glaring at him,
"As if Gary! I'm still going to be the best trainer ever!" If they were going to fight, Trixie was going to be upset. Before either of them could throw a punch or even yell another word, the door to the lab opened.
An elderly man looked at all of them and gave a smile, he seemed nice enough. She wasn't sure who he was, but Gary clearly had an admiration for him, and Ash seemed to regard him as an old friend. Damien looked like he'd just laid eyes on his celebrity crush. It was rather funny.
"Hello, I'm Professor Oak, and I want to congratulate all of you on passing the Trainer Certification program. We'll go in order of when you got here. Follow me." Trixie filed in behind Damien, giving him plenty of room. He gave her a stink eye and Ash seemed to be grumbling about something.
Looking around, it was pretty much what she had expected, but it didn't have the rigidness and uninviting atmosphere that many scientific places had. Whether it be hospitals, labratories, or even just pharmacies, they all seemed cold and unwelcoming. This place however, radiated welcoming and liveliness. It was as if this was her home.
Professor Oak led them to a room with a podium of sorts in the middle. In little slots on the podium thing were three balls, one with a water drop, another with a flame, and the final with a leaf. Gary must have spotted a fallacy with it because he spoke up, "Um, Gramps, there are four of us." Professor Oak gave a knowing look, "The early bird gets the worm. I have something set aside for the last person who arrived, in this case, Ash." Trixie saw an underlying smugness, as if he'd planned something. The statement however, brought a slight malicious smile to Gary's face and made him drop the subject. Ash seemed to be thinking over his life choices. Or he was just terrified.
"Now, I believe the order is Gary, Damien, Trixie, then Ash?" Gary took that as prompting to grab the ball with a water droplet, "I got the best starter here, Ash, no matter what you get it won't beat me." Trixie liked him better before Ash showed up. Perhaps it was just a rivalry thing. Actually, she was pretty sure that's what it was; when she was around Twilight she became more irritating, according to Discord at least. Ash simply rolled his eyes in response, crossing his arms, "An electric type will wipe that smug look off his face in a second." The thought seemed to cheer the boy up, if she ignored the evil eye.
Damien shoved her aside, even though she was behind him, and went up to grab the ball with a flame on it. What a jerk. Perhaps he was compensating for something. He glared at her, and smirked as he glanced at the last remaining ball, "Charmander, fire type, strong against grass type." She could hear the implied 'and thus you' in his voice. She was really just looking forward to leaving him in the dust.
Professor Oak smiled, "And I guess that leaves you with Bulbasaur, Trixie. Ash, you'll have to wait until the end since yours is quite....energetic we'll say." Gary didn't look interested in waiting any longer for the reveal, but he seemed to have already made up his mind to wait and see what starter Ash had gotten. Trixie wanted to stay, since she had no idea where she was going, but she didn't want to be in the vicinity if a fight broke out. Trixie grabbed her ball and stepped beside Ash, who was looking somewhat impatient and irritated.
Professor handed them all red rectangular things, "This is a Pokédex, they each have their individual names. If you point their scanner at something and press this button here, it'll give you an overview of the pokémon in question. When you catch a pokémon it'll give you additional information, such as learnset and gender. And these," Oak handed them each five shrunken balls that looked like the ones supposedly holding their pokémon, "are obviously pokéballs. There are many types, but these are the normal ones and will work on any pokémon. Just weaken them up a bit and throw this at them, so long as this button releases the lock, then they'll wiggle in the ball a bit before you hear a click, at that point you've caught the pokémon. Do not forget that pokémon can break out of balls. Every year someone forgets and gets upset. Or hurt." Trixie found that somewhat humorous as she stored the balls in her bag. She saw little things on her belt and clicked the pokéball with her bulbasaur onto it. Professor Oak smiled,
"I wish you all luck, if you're staying to see Ash's pokémon, I advise you to stay near the walls." It must be something dangerous and Trixie was not in the mood for life threatening circumstances. She noted that Damien was torn between staying to get info on a competitor, or chasing her down. She darted out of the building as fast as she could. Hopefully she wouldn't see him again. Ever.
Upon getting outside, there was a small group of people, Ash's mom, Delia, waved her over. "Where are the others?" Trixie gave a slight laugh, "Oh they're just waiting to see Ash's pokémon, Professor Oak implied that it was dangerous and I don't want to take the risk y'know?" Delia frowned slightly,
"Oh of course, I think Sam and I will need to talk again." Trixie didn't know who this Sam po-person was, but Delia was scaring her, so she gave a polite smile and ran off, ignoring the surprised shouts as she ran past, some people yelled wishes of good luck, which was nice.
Upon reaching the forest she'd come from, she slowed down a bit. She realized that she hadn't even seen her pokémon yet. Looking at the ball on her belt, she pulled it off and it grew to its' normal size. She pointed the button at the ground and pushed it. In a flash of red light, out came a....lizard? It had a bulb on its' back. She sat on the grass and it tilted its' head. Perhaps she had to introduce herself?
"Um, I'm Trixie, I'm your trainer." At least, that's what she thought she was. According to Oak she had passed the Trainer Certification test or something. The thing-the bulbasaur gave a cute little "Bulba!" and nuzzled her knee. She patted its' head and smiled slightly, it was kinda scaly, but it was a lizard after all. Did she name it? What gender even was it? Oh wait.
She brought out her pokédex and pressed the 'scan' button.
Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon. A strange seed was planted on its' back at birth. The plant sprouts and grows with this pokémon.
Gender: Male
Moves: Growl, Tackle, Vine Whip
Cool, and she noted the height and weight next to it. So Bulbasaur was a boy. What names did she know that suited a boy? Or a plant for that matter? Perhaps something like....Elder? He was the first of what was supposed to be a team, and Elder was a type of wood? No, no she'd hold off for now. Until she had a good idea for a name.
She scratched Bulbasaur behind his ear, or what she assumed was his ear, and he seemed to be enjoying it. She slowly picked him up, to make sure he was okay with it, he only looked temporarily confused before adjusting in her grip and nuzzling her. He reminded her of a particularly loving cat. She gave a small smile and started walking along the trail. Hopefully she'd figure out what she was doing along the way.